Marshall, The Human Lightning Rod... by Rory Andes

Have you ever met a person so infectiously electric, you can run your appliances by simply having them stand in a room? Let me introduce you to Marshall "Heck Yeah!!" Byers. He's a little over six foot tall, Anderson-Cooper-stylish-silver hair, and exudes pure, rehabilitated energy.

We all have a story to tell and Marshall is no different. He came to prison like the rest of us. It's indicative of some error he had in handling his life. Thankfully, I didn't have to watch those chapters in his life. I get to enjoy the one he's currently writing. The one that showcases him as a mentor, a friend, a scholar, a motivator and a hero. Hero? Its a big word to reference someone in prison, but his energy and zest for better living has pulled several men from the horrors of prison and into the love of life and a wonderful future, myself included. I know a hundred men and women he's been willing to help and that's just the tip of the iceberg. But to do this much good, you have to be fueled with an electricity that shocks life back into people.

I met him at work in the prison laundry over two years ago and he's one hell of a worker. Motivated. Committed. We hit it off pretty quick, but he does that with most people. I was going through a rough patch and he became a great sounding board and coach for my short term problem. He's a reentry facilitator helping people make sound decisions about life in and after prison. He's a volunteer that makes quilts for the less fortunate. He's a dog trainer who loves the service of giving. He's educated and he works hard at gaining knowledge. When I doubt how to maneuver into success, I just seek him out and he boosts me up... electrified, enriched, and ready to ride the trail. He's the neighbor people want on every block. The comeback kid. The poster boy for repairing a broken soul. Rehabilitated... Rehabilitated... Rehabilitated...

I'm glad to have people like him. Like Ruth. Like James. Like so many others. People who work their asses off to be the best gift of humanity, connected to the world they live in. So, when life runs my batteries down, I have the human lightning rod in Marshall to channel his positive energy into seeing the light and a brighter future.

Thanks Marshall...

by Rory Andes 

email me at Jpay.com using Rory Andes # 367649

or write me at:

Rory Andes # 367649
MCC-TRU
PO Box 888
Monroe WA  98272

Yeeeeeee........Haaaaaaw! by Marshall Byers

Yeah, I'm no cowboy but I love saying Yeeeeeee........Haaaaaaaaw!
Try saying it real loud, it might make you smile.
I let one rip today in class receiving a letter from Edmonds Community College. This is what I discovered.

Dear Mr. Marshall Byers:

I'm honored to inform you that due to your academic success during Fall Quarter 2018, your name was added to Edmonds Community College Honor Roll.

In order to make the Honor Roll, a student must meet the quarterly criteria of completing 10 or more credits, in decimal-graded, college level courses numbered 100 or above, with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher.

Congratulations on your high academic achievement. Keep up the excellent work!

Sincerely yours,

Charlie Crawford
Executive Vice President for Instruction
Chief Academic Officer

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee---------Haaaaaaaaaaaaawwwww! ! My question to the world is this, have you ever known anyone to experience so much happiness that they actually floated away? Today, "if" there were rock's to grab, I would of filled my pockets to keep myself from floating away. Life is absolutely incredible and wondrous up here in the puffy white clouds. Please look up and wave when you see me floating by.

With Love,
Marshall Byers

Mail Me At
Marshall Byers 769274 D-310-2
MCC-TRU
PO BOX 888
Monroe, WA 98272

Email me through jpay.com
Doc #769274
Marshall Byers

Website Expansion: Looking For Input And Advice by Jeff aka Ruth Utnage

I have a vision of what this site could be, what purposes it could fill, who it could be serving. I realized about two years ago that the millions of potential readers I had hoped for were going to take some serious work and I simply cannot do it alone. With that in mind we purchased the site name humanme.org.

Human Me is the future expansion of lgbtqprisonsupport.com. It will include all demographics and serve to give voices to prisoners all over the globe, but its main function will be to bridge the gap between the community and the inmate in a safe manner. Human Me will give inmates a way to write about their change process and that journey and allow their friends and family to do the same. The community can write full articles and simple comments to content they connect with or disagree with but in a manner that allows a barrier. The point would be for the community to see, first hand, what change actually looks like and to safely interact with that element.

Another important piece of this is Human Me's Rehabilitation Program Incubator. We will post inmates rehabilitation program proposals that they submit and ask the public, friends and family to vote on what one they believe is the most likely to make an impact on rehabilitation, then Human Me will fund the program in the proposee's institution. That's the idea. I want to prove to the community that some inmates are more than capable of making changes and that whether they are murderers or sex offenders or non-violent offenders some have what it takes to change and Human Me aims to give them a platform to prove it.

What I need from you is feedback and advice, where's the problems, what can I add? Why or why won't it work?

Another important piece is partnerships, I need to build a Board of Directors and finance this ordeal. I have my thoughts on generating revenue, we have the option of two avenues a B-Corp triple bottom line organization selling ad space( or ??? ) or I could operate it as a non-profit and depend on grants and donations. I believe in both as feasible, both I would operate under the same principles and beliefs. Neither would be a get rich scheme.

Get ahold of me if you are interested in working with me.

Subscribe, Follow, Interact, Comment and change YOUR community

With Love
Jeff aka Ruth Utnage
www.lgbtqprisonsupport.com

Mail To:
Jeff aka Ruth Utnage 823469 D-610-2
MCC-TRU
P.O. Box 888
Monroe, WA 98272

or email through jpay.com
DOC: 823469
Name: Utnage, Jeff (though I am legally Ruth)

The "Sixty Days In" Myth... by Rory Andes

Its a hit show on cable TV's Arts and Entertainment . Its just entertainment, right? Even on that level, we should be concerned. But most people fall into a trap of how "real" this reality show is. Want some reality? No municipality in their right mind is going to let you view into their hellhole of incarceration. Jails and prisons absolutely do not want transparency, because with transparency comes the need for accountability. Criminal justice is among the top leading "industries" in our nation and, as a business, they don't want you involved in how they conduct affairs. "Shut up, be scared, pay your taxes and trust us, we know what's best for you..." This works for the incarcerated as well as those paying the bills.

But, let's get back to the entertainment portion of my thoughts. If caging humans and basking in the violence they cause amongst themselves, all while filming it for all to see, represents entertainment to you, we have clearly lost sight of our national values. The simple idea of this is disturbing. Perhaps because when it does happen in real life, it damages those involved. Violence on a stranger is damaging to your neighborhood... If you come to a neighborhood like my current one, because we have that misguided soul that just finished binge watching that show while spun out of his mind now with nothing to lose, its just as damaging. Perhaps more, because he just learned something new to do that damage with from those shows.

There are a lot of shows that glorify the happenings in prisons. Some of them are realistic, some of them are not. But none of them tell the true story of what rehabilitation looks like. They emphasize the gangs, the violence and the internal prison political machine driven by the convict code. But, if they showed real people changing and reshaping their real lives, how interesting would that be, right? As a taxpayer wanting a real change and a safe neighborhood, that kind of show should be an Emmy winner to you. I know it would be for me...

by Rory Andes

email me at JPay.com using Rory Andes # 367649

or write me at

Rory Andes
# 367649
MCC-TRU
PO Box 888
Monroe WA  98272

Splash! by Marshall Byers

To all the beautiful people around the world, I am overwhelmed with so much love, happiness and excitement! I'm so thankful as well to be able to share with you this incredible news. I was handed this tonight:

The Seattle Aquarium is excited to announce our 28th annual fundraising gala. 
SPLASH!
Friday, June 7th, 2019

Each year, our signature fundraiser brings the Puget Sound's civic and philanthropic leaders together in support of the Seattle Aquarium's mission: Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment. Last summer, the plight of the southern resident orca population gripped the region with devastating images of Tahlequah's grief for her calf. It is the Seattle Aquarium's solemn hope that this increased awareness will inspire immediate action to conserve the Salish Sea for our shared future. In tribute to this vision, this year's featured animal of SPLASH! 2019 is the orca.

With support from donors, Splash! 2018 raised over $848,000 to help the Seattle Aquarium spark a passion for the marine environment through education, outreach and exhibits that inspire a lifelong love of the ocean. Funds raised from Splash! 2019 will go toward spurring action to protect the health of our local waters and saving our one world ocean for future generations.

We hope that you will renew support for our mission by considering a donation to Splash! 2019 and returning the enclosed form today. You will be acknowledged in the auction catalog and on the item display materials. With more than 600 guest in attendance, including key business and community leaders, this is a fantastic opportunity to publicly show your support for the Seattle Aquarium. For more information, please contact Caitlin Foster at (206) 693-6241 or c.foster@seattleaquarium.org.

My 85 by 85 Traditional 9 Block Quilt that I recently finished is going to be auctioned off for this amazing cause. Are you kidding me! My heart feels like it grew to be the size of Texas. My eyes keep pouring tears of joy. Life in this very moment is what dreams are made of. I'm finding it difficult to see while I'm writing this wonderful message to you all.

Wow, what an honor it is to be apart of something so special, and to make a differences that impacts the ocean, by donating my time making a warm and cozy multicolored quilt. Heck Yeah !

Most Compassionately,

Marshall Byers

email me at Jpay.com using Marshall Byers # 769274

or write me at

Marshall Byers 
# 769274
MCC-TRU
PO Box 888
Monroe WA  98272

LGBTQIA (SA, A, S, TS, SS, MS, GQ, GNC, GF...): What Do All These Letters Mean? Allow Me To Explain by Ruth Utnage

All the letter we hear about in LGBT pop culture are adding to the terminology mayhem which for straights and LGBT persons alike is a full blown educational crises. This brings one to a point where they can knuckle down and begin the learning process or they can forgo the milieu of equality rhetoric and say "f - it". Equal representation at the social negotiation table is the point of introducing all these new letters, which are symbols of the factions they represent. No longer is LGBT good enough just as gay wasn't good enough that led to LGBT. This practice of adding letters to the mix was started with well-meaning intentions, but the road to hell was always paved with good intentions. Besides confusing our allies we have effectively created divisions within divisions within divisions. Factions within factions of divisions within divisions leading to confusion of where our alliances reside. Are you trans or gender non-conforming? Are you gender non-conforming or gender non-binary or gender-queer or androgynous or two-spirited or a transvestite or transsexual pan gendered or a cross-dresser? Choose a side and claim your flag and march in the designated row of the Pride parade and try not to dull my shine in the process or we'll take your princess points away. This movement of equality, like gangs, has caused division among the equality movement that is impossible to achieve so long as we entertain our ego's. As long as we are (let me see if I can do this) L,G,B,T,Q,I,A,GS, A, GNC, GF,GNB, GB, GFu, TS, SS, MS, CD, NB, P, PF, A, S, CS...did I miss anyone ( Write me and let me know and the next time I go on a labelling diatribe I'll try to be more "equal" about it), we will never be "N" (Normal) or "Ac" (Accepted) because we belong to another label we nestled ourselves into for equal representation, which the more I experience disparity the more I understand that we are our own worst enemy. The truth is nobody knows how to help us have an equal seat at table. This imaginary table was only invented for white men, then it grew to allow black men and other men of color, reluctantly. Then the ultimate equality expansion was allowing women to sit there two, at the "man's" table. In order for it to expand any further we need to install CCTV and microphones so we can see one another from the next county because the table has grown so much that we can' t even see the end. Its hard to imagine something to accommodate infinity. I say this as someone who has a site named after these very labels, www.lgbtqprisonsupport.com as a means to reach a targeted audience. I am not trying to change anything here, I just simply want to interrupt the equality meeting to introduce a thought while you go about your day. Maybe as a community, because all demographics read these, we can come up with a more suitable solution? Here's to challenges and our uncanny ability to overcome them. Subscribe, Follow, Interact, Comment and change YOUR community With Love Ruth Utnage (Legal as of 1-31-2019!) www.lgbtqprisonsupport.com email me at ruthutnage@gmail.com or Jpay using Jeff Utnage # 823469 or by mail to Jeff Utnage aka Ruth Utnage MCC-TRU  D-610-2 PO Box 888 Monroe WA  98272

Did You Ever by Marshall Byers

Did you ever put a hand written note into a helium filled balloon when you were a kid, and watch it float away until it was just a tiny speck in the sky?

Did you ever adopt a stray dog named Girl, and when you got off the school bus she was there waiting to walk you home?

Did you ever get hit and dragged over an old wooded bridge by a car while riding your bicycle home, ending up without a single scratch?

Did you ever sneak out as a kid and walk for miles in the dark for one kiss?

Did you ever trespass in your neighbors garage, wondering what would happen if you pounded a sharp railroad spike into a silver spray paint can?

Did you ever climb a giant hundred foot tree, sitting on the top branch with a death grip realizing you couldn't get down, having to yell for help?

Did you ever feel like melting inside receiving a hug and be told that you are loved as a kid?

Yep, I sure did!

Subscribe, Follow, Interact, comment and change Your community.

Ton's of love,
Marshall Byers
for www.lgbtqprisonsupport.com

Mail Me At
Marshall Byers 769274
MCC-TRU D-310-2
P.O. BOX 888
Monroe, WA 769274

Email me through jpay.com
Doc #769274
Marshall Byers

Should Tax Dollars Be Spent On Sex Reassignment Surgery and Hormone Therapy For Inmates? by Jeff aka Ruth Utnage

I am going to make an argument that your tax dollars are best spent, in regards to inmate rehabilitation, on actual rehabilitation efforts which includes identity affirmation. However, before we delve into that, let me break something down for you.

What if the Secret Service was only effective 65% of the time? How about police or social workers or doctors? What if they were only effective 65% of the time at most? Would you, the American public tolerate that? I doubt it. Prisons have recidivism rates that range anywhere from 83% to 35%. That means that prison, at their best, effectively operate, in rehabilitation, 65% of the time at their absolute best. The reality is, most cook their books and according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics "2018 Update on Prisoner Recidivism: A 9-Year Follow-up Period (2005-2014)" over a nine year period the recidivism rate for inmates is at a dramatic 83% despite some states claiming a 35% rate.

Rehabilitation is a very big deal. Prisoners (me) need to come out of this place better people, not worse or unchanged altogether (the worst outcome in my opinion). I have taken steps to correct my behavior and cognitive functioning, but not everyone does. It just so happens that a major part of rehabilitation is self acceptance...anyone care to challenge that notion?

If you are not comfortable in your own skin and do not get the necessary help or tools to cope with the stress of low self-esteem or ones sexuality or Gender Dysphoria, let alone potential childhood trauma and even adult trauma let's throw on top of that prison violence and its stresses, which is by design and how in the hell is someone supposed to release back to the community healthy?

Don't you, and quite frankly me too, deserve better? I think so.

Part of effective inmate rehabilitation is identity affirmation. Some get outraged at the thought of Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) being done at the tax payers expense, or at all, but have no problem watching their dollars get wasted on ineffective programs that are ridiculously overinflated both in overall effectiveness and cost. At least with SRS one major cognitive problem is actually being solved, money well spent. For many, hormone therapy is enough and SRS is not necessary, for some need surgery. Let me give you one last analogy, then I'll stop.

Let's say we are a house, and we have to fix some things. So the government condemned our house until the proper repairs are made. So we go to the space where our houses are either destroyed or fixed, its up to us. But when we get put on this block, this prison, we have two sets of tools to choose from: 1. Hammer and nails or 2. Sword and shield.

Sounds easy enough to choose but you cannot repair what you must protect and if you are busy trying to accept your identity, or protect yourself from predation, or from whatever, you cannot effectively concentrate on fixing anything...especially when the person you are fixing isn't even the right gender.

I will say this, I am glad that some are watching how their "tax dollars are spent", good job. I would like to say you're better late to the cause than never, and thanks for finally showing up, even if you are pathetically ignorant of the reality of how your tax dollars are wasted on faux rehabilitation programming and unnecessary policing tactics meant to ensure job stability instead of your safety. But hey, at least you can sleep safely tonight because my shirt is tucked in and I can't wear eye liner.

Subscribe, Follow, Interact, Comment and change YOUR community

With Love
Jeff aka Ruth Utnage

Mail To:
Jeff aka Ruth Utnage 823469 D-610-2
MCC-TRU
P.O. Box 888
Monroe, WA 98272

or email through jpay.com
DOC: 823469
Name: Utnage, Jeff (though I am legally Ruth)